Page 53 of Psycho

But all I said was, “Yes.”

Helen let out a sigh, saying, “I miss you, honey. I really do. Home isn’t the same without you, but I know you’ll move up to bigger and better things, and that’s really all a parent wants for their child.”

I gave her another hug, whispering, “I miss you too.” And then, when the hug ended, my mom got into the van, waved, and drove off, leaving me. It wasn’t really much of a holiday, but it was better this way. Safer.

If Ray was watching me, no one around me was safe. If he’d followed us here, then he’d seen everything that happened in the woods too. When we returned to Hillcrest tomorrow, I would put all my focus on him. Whatever he was planning would happen soon. If I had to kill my monster to defeat him, then…

Then I guess that’s what I’d do, not that I was proud of it.

Kill him. Double-tap him. Make sure he was really dead this time before running. No more mistakes.

Ray Ruiz was a dead man walking.

Chapter Twenty-Five – Travis

I was silent for most of the drive back. At this point, it shouldn’t surprise me Sawyer had some pills stashed away. I thought I did a good sweep of his room, but apparently not. That, or he had some other hiding place in the house. It was a fucking huge house, and it wasn’t like I could turn everything upside down without his parents looking at me like I was crazy.

All throughout dinner, Sawyer was fucking high. His pupils dilated to the extreme, and his words hardly made any sense. He was out of it, and both his parents noticed. It was why, today, I drove us back to the house a bit early. Not because we were returning early from Thanksgiving break like we planned, but because Sawyer’s father had all but forced his hand.

Sawyer had to leave for a while, which was probably good for him. But that was the thing—I didn’t care about what was good for him. I only cared about how it would affect Ash. Ash was ticked at Sawyer for what he did with Kelsey, but him leaving? That was…it might hurt her, and the last thing I wanted to see was Ash hurt.

When we pulled up to his house, I spotted a box near the front door. Sawyer practically dragged himself from the car, moving like a slug. Good, because it gave me time to grab the box and get in the house, hide it from him. And Ash.

A second present from her psycho ex.

As I bent to pick it up, I found it was a bit heavier than the one before. I tossed a quick look at Sawyer, who lagged behind me, carrying the bag he’d brought to his parents’ house, and said, “Hurry up. I want to get you there before noon.” The place he was going was over two hours away. Assuming Ash and the others were on their way here…they’d make it. She’d see him off.

At this point, I didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. I was excited to see her again, though. It felt like ages, years since I laid eyes on her, even though it’d only been a few days. Mere days away from her felt like torture. That girl had my soul in her hand, and I didn’t care what she did with it, as long as she didn’t let it go.

“I’m coming,” Sawyer muttered, picking up his pace.

I stepped around the mail that had been shoved in through the slot on the front door, moving to hide the box behind me as Sawyer said nothing else and went up the stairs. I went to the kitchen, double and triple-checking to make sure Sawyer was upstairs packing before I lifted the lid and peeked inside the box.

Oh, yeah. This one was heavier because there were more than a few petite fingers in it.

This one held a whole fucking foot. Shoeless and sockless. Brooklyn was losing herself piece by piece; I couldn’t say I’d miss her, because frankly I wanted to kill the bitch for what she’d almost done to Ash, for what she did do to Ash, but this asshole beat me to it.

I went outside and put it in the trunk of the car. I’d dispose of it after dropping Sawyer off. Ash would not receive any gifts from Ray, I’d make sure of it.

As I closed the trunk, I reached into my pocket and dialed her number, heading back into the house. I heard Sawyer’s footsteps moving around upstairs, and I let him be. The fuckup knew there was no escaping this. If he didn’t go, Mommy and Daddy would cut him off. That was an ultimatum if ever I heard one.

Ash answered on the third ring. “Hey,” she said, and I imagined her smiling as she spoke. “How was your Thanksgiving? Eat a lot of turkey?”

“With ketchup,” I said. “Made me think of you.”

She giggled. “Did you…did you find it?”

“No. Her room was clean. There is…there is something else you should know, though.” I didn’t want to be the one to tell her about Sawyer. The dickwad earned the right to tell her himself. “Are you on your way back?”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“Just hurry, if you can.” I looked at the clock on the microwave in the kitchen. “Can you make it before ten?” It was just after nine now.

“We’re ten minutes away,” she said, sounding unsure. “Travis, did something happen?”

Something did happen. Something big, something all of us should’ve expected. Sawyer falling off the wagon. It wasn’t like I could take full responsibility for him, because I couldn’t babysit him for the rest of his life. This…this was his mistake, and now he had to own up to it. I’d thought he was okay, but maybe me searching for Sabrina’s second diary triggered him, sent him spiraling.

“Yes.” I said nothing more, hanging up. She called back immediately, but I didn’t pick up. She’d get here soon enough, and then…then she’d be able to see just what happened. Sawyer…there were no words for Sawyer anymore. Being ‘friends’ with him was exhausting.

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